Did she invent something used in a war? WWI? WWII? This Did she invent a weapon? no A machine? An object? Noish to boththere! now if only I could remember the actress and the thing she invented I'd be home and dry! Yep! I think it must be lurking in the back of your mind now.

Eavesdropping relevant? yessish Voice communications? Text? Morse? Pictures? Numbers? No to the rest Computers involved? yes/yope Was the invention used: in the US? yes In a war zone? could have been Submarines relevant? yessish

Especially for Kayleekitteh, here is a RECAP.

Miss X was a movie star, and as Shez says, a glamourous one. She invented something that could have made a contribution to the war effort, having to do with radio frequency communications. As the answer to Galfisk just above indicates, eavesdropping, or rather the prevention of it, is relevant. HINT: It relates to a technology that was not used in WW II, but is in common use today.

Prevention of: receiving the broadcast in the first place? Making sense of what's transmitted? Is only RF communications relevant? Or could it work for preventing wiretapping of wired communications as well? Frequency hopping relevant?

Prevention of: receiving the broadcast in the first place? Making sense of what's transmitted? Is only RF communications relevant? Or could it work for preventing wiretapping of wired communications as well? Frequency hopping relevant? YES!

I'm going to call this a ***************SPOILER**************** Your fathers and grandfathers may remember Hedy Lamarr, or maybe you do if you are an old movie fan - I mean a fan of old movies. During World War II, she and a musician friend developed a anti-jamming device for torpedos involving frequency hopping. It used 88 frequencies, the same as for keys on a piano. It was so advanced, however, that it could not be used at the time, and was not commercialized until 1962, after the patent had expired. She made not a dime from it. Her invention formed a basis for the US defense communications system, and, as an anti-hacking measure, for much of computer & cell-phone technology. Before her death in 2000, Ms. Lamarr was honored at computer technology conferences, and in 2002 was an inductee in the Electronic Design Hall of Fame, along with Tesla, Steve Jobs, Marconi, Mr. Hewlett & Mr. Packard. Pretty elite company for someone who first became famous for doing a nude scene in her native Austria!